ATM Cash Deposit Unit ControllerDesign and development of hardware and software for ATM cash deposit unit microprocessor controller PCB. Included object detection electronics and interface to ATM and high voltage actuators.

Semiconductor Laser Off-line Power Supply and ChargerDesign and development of a universal input, off-line, microprocessor controlled laser power supply and intelligent battery charger. The design was highly cost and size sensitive. Included software and hardware to monitor battery capacity and provide the correct charging algorithm, based on charge state and temperature. The unit also communicated with other parts of the laser system using an I2C bus.

Surface Tester Electronics ModuleDesign and development of main microprocessor and electronic module for surface properties tester. Included high sensitivity and low drift strain gauge amplifiers. Microprocessor interface to strain gauges, temperature sensors and LCD display.

Filter PCBDesign and development of an active filter PCB to improve performance of industrial sensor system.

Delay Sequencing ModuleDesign and development of hardware and software for microprocessor delay sequencing PCB for high voltage X-ray power supply.

Custom Electronics RepairRepair of custom built electronics for a very large piece of specialist industrial equipment that the customer had recently obtained second hand. They needed the equipment working quickly for an urgent contract and the company who made the machine were now out of business. We were able to turn up on site and solve the problem within a day.

Reliability InvestigationReliability investigation into failures of X-ray power supply. Several design and manufacturing problems identified and recommendations made.

Sequencer UpdateUpgrade of custom portable test sequence controller. Upgrade from embedded processor and built-in display to control from external PC including porting of existing software.

Image Sensor Board Design of development board with image sensor and image processor with multiple LCD capability. FPGA for multiplexing and video format conversion. Control microprocessor with USB interface and all power supplies.

Endurance Test RigDesign and build of custom reliability test rig and software to control a bank of motorised electronic remote control window blinds. Control box and PC user interface to programme and control automatic repetitive test sequences including mains PSU on/off switching.

Safety Interlock Loop CircuitDesign and implementation of high voltage switching safety interlock loop system for x-ray power supply.

Material Cutting Machine ControllerDesign and manufacture of industrial programmable controller unit and ladder logic program to time and sequence machine with pneumatic cutting blades in response to various operator inputs.

Video Camera Development Board Design and development of board with camera, video processor and LCD. Auxiliary control microprocessor with USB interface and voltage regulators, PSUs and all other support circuits.

Control System SupportA customer had a large 25 year old industrial control system that was critical to their operation. They had no technical knowledge or documentation for the system.

We reverse engineered the system to produce full documentation including circuit diagrams and parts lists. A specification was drawn up for each component in the system so that if a replacement was needed the closest modern equivalent could quickly be sourced.

We were concerned when we identified that the only copy of critical PLC software was that within the PLC itself. To make matters worse the PLC memory backup battery was years past its service life. We had to procure obsolete interface hardware to allow us to download a software backup from the PLC.

Replacement memory backup battery packs for the PLC were no longer available so we fabricated a new replacement. The PLC programming hardware was retained so that the software could be quickly restored if it ever became corrupted.

Medical Data RecorderDesign of battery operated medical data recorder for trial of newly developed biosensor. To be worn by patient for a day of continuous measurement so small design, minimum weight and low power. Precision analogue sensor interface and AtoD conversion electronics to make several different types of measurement. LCD with microprocessor control and measurements recorded on SD card plus safety circuits.

ConsultancyAn air conditioning services company asked us to help them with a problem they were having with a firmware update for a critical building air conditioning unit. The firmware was supplied on EPROMs by the manufacturer from abroad.

The unit was not working with the supplied EPROMs but would work when fitted with EPROMs from another identical unit. Several sets of replacement EPROMs had already been supplied but all had the same problem. The manufacturer would only respond by sending yet more faulty EPROMs.

We examined the data in the EPROMs and found that they were being incorrectly programmed and even identified the mistake being made by the person doing the programming. Our report was used to get action from the manufacturer and resolve the problem.

GHz RF Module Automatic Production TestSoftware for automatic production test of military radio frequency modules using custom hardware and GPIB test equipment.

Obsolete Equipment RepairA customer had a critical system which included a temperature controller that had stopped working. As the temperature controller was old, a new unit was not available and all attempts to get a repair from the more usual channels had failed. For various reasons, replacement with a different, new model was not an easy option. We were able to repair the unit by using an equivalent of an obsolete component within the controller we had identified as being faulty.